This invention relates generally to home appliances, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for assembling a handle assembly with a home appliance.
Known home appliances, such as refrigerators, generally include a housing defining at least one compartment for storage of food items, and at least one door for accessing the compartment. A handle is typically coupled to an exterior surface of the door for accessing the compartments. In at least some known appliances, fasteners are used to fasten the handle to the door by extending the fasteners through the door from the inside of the door. This known type of construction is a reliable method of coupling handles to the door. However, in at least some known appliances, this type of mounting method is not feasible or is undesirable. For example, in home appliances utilizing a foam in place construction for the door, the fasteners typically do not extend through the inside portion of the door. Additionally, it may be undesirable to a consumer if the fasteners are visible from either side of the door. Moreover, the mounting method of extending fasteners through the door typically provides a gap between the handle and the door after assembly which may be visible to the consumer.
As a result, at least some known appliances have been developed which utilize sliding ramp components coupled to an exterior of the door, wherein the handle is vertically mounted to the ramp components using a sliding motion. However, during the process of engaging the ramp components, the sliding motion can cause marring and/or scratching, especially on a high gloss door. This marring or scratching is visible by the consumer and highly undesirable. Moreover, these known appliances utilizing the ramp components for mounting the handle typically require a large pull in force to fully mount the handle to the door, and to minimize the gap between the handle and the door.